It should make us all feel a little better about our own worries that Martin Scorsese’s work gives him nightmares. Not Shutter Island-type nightmares, just anxieties about progressing with each film, telling the story in a different way, bringing something new to the narrative.

With 22 films and a battery of awards to his name, Scorsese is considered one of America’s greatest filmmakers. We spent a few minutes with him at an event launching the Hennessy ad campaign he participated in, talking about his new projects, his inspirations, violence and human nature.

Mr. Scorsese, what’s on your mind right now?I’m getting involved with this Wolf of Wall Street project that we hope to start shooting in late summer. I’m coming off a script conference last night with Terry Winter, who wrote the script, who is the executive writer, of course, for Boardwalk Empire. So... I’m seeing everything through that prism in a way.Can you explain that?It’s how to approach the story, how to tell the story as a film. Where is it taking me? Can I tell the story in a new way that I think I’ve achieved a different narrative, using narrative differently? The themes are themes I’ve always dealt with, and I think they’re pertinent to the present situation all over the world. Then I have to handle it a certain way. I’ve been listening to music. Trying to figure out shots. What am I gonna bring to it? And the thing is, I can’t wait until I’m there on the set. I don’t work that way. The hardest part goes on now, starting from this week until we start shooting. Then it becomes an absolute nightmare [laughs]. At least it’s a nightmare where you’re with other people. But I am having nightmares.

Take me inside a Martin Scorsese nightmare. There was one recently. I said, “OK, we’re going to run the picture now, just for me — I’m going to look at it by myself.” And there’s a section midway through where we’re stopping for three minutes and we’re switching onto another reel — some complicated technical thing — and I’m just looking at it with my editor, Thelma. So I show up in the screening room and everybody is there. The producers and financiers. They’re all going, “Hey, ready to go [rubbing his hands together]!” I said, “No, no! There must be some mistake, see, because I just need to see it.” And they’re going, well, we’re all here now. And I said, “I know you’re all here, but I have to screen it myself.” I left. I said, “You run it.” I woke up on that one. There are many anxiety dreams.

I didn’t realize you had so much anxiety.I’ve been on a tour opening Hugo for four months. It’s a lot of movement, a lot of talking, a lot of interviews. But I look forward — especially in New York, L.A., London, Paris, Morocco, wherever else — you usually have some friends, and I have a cognac after dinner and we sit and talk. I miss that give-and-take. Sometimes it goes two or three hours. You meet with other filmmakers, actors, writers, old friends. It keeps you alive creatively. That’s something that’s needed before I do a picture. And maybe that inspires you to move forward, you know? The best way it happens is when you don’t realize it’s going to happen, when somebody’s there and they walk in. It could be anybody from Sacha Baron Cohen to Gaspar Noe, who’s a very interesting French director, to Terry Gilliam in London. It goes on that way. When Terry sits down, that’s it. We’ll get into the real stuff. That’s what I need.

What is most important to you at this stage in your career? The most important thing is, how can I move forward towards something that I can’t articulate, that is new in storytelling with moving images and sound? 3D helped with Hugo a great deal. It was telling us what it needed. Are we up to this new technique? This is really important. How do you tell it differently? In the case of Hugo, it was use of space and movement. The best part for me was the actors’ faces in 3D because they become more accessible to the audience. A lot of people said that. They’re looking right at you, like a sculpture that moves. I wish I could do everything in 3D.

In any event, there’s that: The surprise of where I’ll wind up. Can I surprise myself? Maybe it should all be simplified. Maybe the whole technique should be thrown out. Go another way. I don’t really know. Those are the hard questions. Inevitably it comes down to working with the actors on the set. There are some moments where you’re in it together and there’s no turning back. You know what you need. You may not be able to articulate it right away, but especially if you have an actor I’ve worked with a lot — Leo, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Cate Blanchett, Patricia Clarkson (she’s amazing). You just stumble over things and say, “Oh, yeah, that’s it!” It may just be a medium shot. I’m looking toward that. It’s exciting but also scary because I don’t want to have to repeat. It has to go further. It has to address the material in the present film, not the one 20 years ago.